Breakaway Tips From Alexander Ovechkin

scoring on a breakaway

Is there anything that you can do on a breakaway to intimidate the goalie and try to get him off his focus?

No, goalies in the NHL today are prepared for this — they do not get scared very easily. They aren’t afraid of very much during a game and they probably would not get intimidated from anything I try to do on a breakaway.

Is there a goalie in the NHL that you hate to go up against?

Probably Roberto Luongo from the Vancouver Canucks. He’s a really good goalie and a big guy, which makes him especially hard to score on.

Which goalie out there do you feel the most confident about scoring on?

I don’t know; it’s hard to say. There are a lot of goalies out there that I have scored on a lot. I can’t really think of a single name that I have scored on often, but I’m sure there are a few.

nhl all-star breakaway challenge

Since you're one of the more popular players in the NHL, do you feel like you have to play harder to please your fans?

I play hard every game, for my team and my fans.

If you could put together your own NHL All-Star lineup, who would you choose?

In goal would be Martin Brodeur from the New Jersey Devils. My defensemen would be Andrei Markov from the Montreal Canadiens and Zdeno Chara from the Boston Bruins. And my forwards would be my teammate Niklas Backstrom from the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

What trick do you have up your sleeve for this weekend's Breakaway Challenge?

I’m going to try my old trick from last year again, where I bounce the puck in the air, do a spin-o-rama and then hit the puck mid-air. And I definitely have something new that I am going to try.

Do you think you can share your new trick with me?

No I can’t tell you. I’m going to save it for the Breakaway Challenge, everyone will see it then!

Get a preview of the Breakaway Challenge and watch Alexander Ovechkin and Ryan Getzlaf practice their breakaway moves.

The 2009 Honda/NHL SuperSkill, including the Scotiabank NHL Fan Fav Breakaway Challenge will air Saturday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. ET on VERSUS in the U.S. and on CBC and RDS in Canada. Fans at home and in the arena will choose the winner of one of the competitions via text messaging powered by NHL partner Telescope, Inc. Voting will begin as soon as the last Breakaway Challenge competitor completes his routine, and fans will be able to cast one text message vote per mobile phone.